Bridge also found that property tax values on three blocks in three different communities -- including a block in Lansing -- dropped as a result of declining property values.

From the report, which looked at the 3000 block of Westchester Road in the city's West Side Neighborhood:

...of the 15 dwellings listed in the 3000 block, 13 had a smaller
property tax bill in 2010 than in 2008. Of the two that saw taxes
increase, one was for barely $100 — and the other was the apparent
result of a conversion from an owner-occupied dwelling into a rental
(with the subsequent loss of the homestead property tax break).

Of the 13 tax drops, the largest was $1,027 and the smallest was 7
cents. The average among the 13 decliners was just under $770. In 2010,
the average tax bill on the 13 properties was $4,380 on 46.3 mills.

The declining property taxes may have been a de facto tax cut for residents, but the result was a substantial drop-off in revenue for city services.